Capitol Riot Exposed QAnon’s Violent Potential
The QAnon movement took off in late 2017 when an anonymous prognosticator began posting on the 4chan imageboard about an alleged plot by Satan-worshipping pedophiles and global elites seeking to undermine Trump. Though Q’s predictions have failed to materialize, the conspiracy has lived on.
The first known QAnon-inspired criminal act occurred in June 2018 when QAnon follower Matthew Wright had a standoff with law enforcement officers in the middle of a bridge in Arizona, according to Travis View, co-host of the QAnon Anonymous Podcast.
Wright demanded the release of a Justice Department inspector general report on the Russia investigation that he believed would “reveal all of the things that the deep state was supposedly doing,” View said.
“He was certainly motivated by QAnon ideology,” View said.
The following year, Anthony Comello killed suspected Gambino crime family boss Francesco Cali outside the victim’s home, believing Cali was part of the deep state — the suspected invisible, sinister power structure — according to View. It was one of three homicides linked to QAnon since 2018.
“A lot of QAnon followers have this sense of moral righteousness that they are fighting a very noble crusade and this allows them to [use it] as moral justification to do some very dangerous and criminal things, which is the case with all extremists,” View said.
The START report on QAnon offenders is part of an ongoing study of radicalization in the United States. It comes amid heightened concern in the U.S. about domestic violent extremism in the wake of the Capitol riot.
Reflecting the makeup of the broader QAnon stratosphere, the QAnon offenders studied by START are a diverse group.
“Some come from affluent backgrounds, with good educations and work experience, and have no known criminal histories,” Jensen said. “Others were unemployed at the time of their arrests, come from poor socio-economic backgrounds, and have substance abuse or mental health issues.”
The START report on QAnon offenders is part of an ongoing study of radicalization in the United States. It comes amid heightened concern in the U.S. about domestic violent extremism in the wake of the Capitol riot.
Reflecting the makeup of the broader QAnon stratosphere, the QAnon offenders studied by START are a diverse group.
“Some come from affluent backgrounds, with good educations and work experience, and have no known criminal histories,” Jensen said. “Others were unemployed at the time of their arrests, come from poor socio-economic backgrounds, and have substance abuse or mental health issues.”
There were notable differences between the QAnon followers who took part in the riot and those who were arrested earlier. The most glaring was that those who took part in the riot had lower rates of substance abuse, mental illness, and unemployment. The non-QAnon rioters also had a generally low rate of unemployment, suggesting that the pro-Trump mob was a relatively well-off group with the means to take time off and travel to Washington.
Twelve of the 66 had known ties to other extremist groups, suggesting cross-pollination across extremist lines.
Seven belonged to the so-called “sovereign citizens” anti-government movement, two each were members of the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys, and one was affiliated with the Wolverine Watchmen militia. But only two of the 12 — Oath Keepers Joshua Macias and Antonio Lamotta — participated in the Capitol riot.
In most cases, Jensen said, the QAnon followers with “dual affiliations” had already been immersed in other movements before embracing the conspiracy theory.
Colin Clarke, director of policy and research at the Soufan Group, said far-right groups see QAnon conspiracy theorists as “useful fools.”
“We’ve seen on the Telegram channels online discussions from other aspects of the far-right, openly talking about whether or not and how to recruit these people now that these conspiracies have proven bankrupt,” Clarke said.
What connects the two movements, Clarke said, is “a heavy dose of anti-Semitism” that permeates the conspiracy theory.
Masood Farivar covers the Justice Department and the FBI for Voice of America. This article is published courtesy of the Voice of America (VOA).
